Leeds United’s return to the Premier League was never likely to be a quiet affair.

After so long out of the picture, Marcelo Bielsa’s all-action brand of football doesn’t exactly lend itself to bore draws and the Whites have duly been involved in barnstorming games against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool since promotion.

Recently, the likes of Noel Whelan have criticised aspects of their approach but another pundit has moved to wax lyrical about the project in play at Elland Road.

Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, former Newcastle United hero Rob Lee has praised Bielsa’s work since arriving in West Yorkshire, ahead of the meeting of the two northern powerhouses tomorrow night.

When asked whether or not he thought the enigmatic Argentine was at all overrated after suggestions from Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph that the job he did didn’t warrant inclusion in the FIFA Best Men’s Coach award, Lee was emphatic in his response.

“I think he has done a fantastic job,” said the former Toon ace.

“Normally if a manager trains you too hard, or too many times a day, the players don’t like you but the players like him and I think that’s the charisma he’s got.”

GIVEMESPORT’s Jonathan Gorrie says…

It’s certainly interesting to hear about the training aspect from a former player.

Much has been made about how intense Bielsa’s sessions are and the fact he’s raised the standards at Thorp Arch, which is of course a double-edged sword.

If you’re successful and everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, it looks like a genius move, but any downturn in form could be attributed to burning out, as lazy an analysis that may be at times.

Bielsa is revered in Leeds as the various murals around the city would attest, so his approach looks to have been the right one.